Project description:Bovine infectious rhinotracheitis (IBR), caused by bovine alphaherpesvirus 1 (BoAHV1), poses significant challenges to the global cattle industry due to its high contagiousness and economic impact. In our study, we successfully isolated a BoAHV1 strain from suspected infected bovine nasal mucus samples in Yanji city, revealing genetic similarities with strains from Sichuan, Egypt, and the USA, while strains from Xinjiang, Beijing, Hebei, and Inner Mongolia showed more distant associations, indicating potential cross-border transmission. Additionally, our investigation of BoAHV1 infection dynamics within host cells revealed early upregulation of gB, which is critical for sustained infection, while the expression of gC and gD showed variations compared to previous studies. These findings enhance our understanding of BoAHV1 diversity and infection kinetics, underscoring the importance of international collaboration for effective surveillance and control strategies. Furthermore, they lay the groundwork for the development of targeted therapeutics and vaccines to mitigate the impact of IBR on the cattle industry.
Project description:Bovine alphaherpesvirus 1 (BoAHV1) is prevalent in cattle throughout the world, whereas bovine alphaherpesvirus 5 (BoAHV5) prevalence seems restricted to some countries in South America, Australia, and other regions, mainly in the Southern Hemisphere. BoAHV5 infections occur where water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) farming is practiced, often close to cattle (Bos taurus) farms. Bubaline alphaherpesvirus 1 (BuAHV1), a virus whose natural host is believed to be the water buffaloes, usually causes asymptomatic infections in that species. Here, evidence is provided confirming the close relationship between BuAHV1 and BoAHV5. Phylogenetic and recombination analyses were used to reveal the evolutionary relationship between all whole-genome sequences of BoAHV1 (n = 52), BoAHV5 (n = 7), and BuAHV1 (n = 6) available to date. It is proposed here that BoAHV5 most likely resulted from multiple recombination events between a BuAHV1-like ancestor and BoAHV1-like viruses. The BoAHV5 whole unique short (US) region and most of the unique long (UL) genomic regions seem to have been derived from a BuAHV1-like parental genome, whereas at least six small segments of the UL (corresponding to nucleotides 8287 to 8624; 10,658 to 14,496; 48,013 to 48,269; 71,379 to 71,927; 81,426 to 85,003; and 94,012 to 96,841 of the BoAHV5 genome) and two small segments of the US (corresponding to nucleotides 107,039 to 107,581 and 131,267 to 131,810) have been derived from a BoAHV1-like parental genome. The hypothesis that the BoAHV5 species may have originated following a series of recombination events between BuAHV1 and BoAHV1 variants is consistent with the geographical distribution of BoAHV5, which seems to be prevalent in the regions where cattle and water buffalo farming overlap.
Project description:Herpesviruses are significant pathogens of ruminants. In water buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis), however, herpesviruses have not been thoroughly studied. Although bubaline alphaherpesvirus 1 (BuAHV1) and bovine alphaherpesvirus 1 (BoAHV1) have already been recovered from water buffaloes, to date, no reports on the occurrence of bovine alphaherpesvirus 5 (BoAHV5) in these animals have been published. Therefore, the aim of this study was to search for BuAHV1, BoAHV1, and BoAHV5 in palatine tonsils of apparently healthy water buffaloes from the Pará state, Northern Brazil. Tissue samples of tonsils (n = 293) were screened by a nested PCR (nPCR) targeting a region of UL44 (gC coding gene), followed by sequencing, to detect and differentiate between the viral types. Viral genome segments were detected in 18 out of 293 (6.1%) of the palatine tonsil samples. Two animals carried genomes of BoAHV1 only, eleven animals carried BoAHV5 genomes only, and four animals carried BuAHV1 only. Another animal had both BoAHV1 and BoAHV5 genomes in its tonsils. No infectious virus could be recovered from any of the samples. The BuAHV1 sequences identified here were more closely related to BuAHV1 genomes identified in India. Phylogenetic analyses suggested a closer relationship between the recovered BoAHV5 and BuAHV1 genomes. Therefore, evidence is provided here to confirm that not only BoAHV1 and BuAHV1, but also BoAHV5, can infect water buffaloes. This report highlights (i) the first detection of BoAHV5 in water buffaloes and (ii) the occurrence of coinfections with BoAHV1 and BoAHV5 in that species. Such findings and the similarity of BoAHV5 to Indian herpesvirus genomes suggest that the origin of type 5 may be linked to recombinations between bovine and bubaline herpesviruses within bubalines, since the scenario for generation of recombinants in buffaloes is potentially present.
Project description:MicroRNA and other types of small regulatory RNAs play a crucial role in the regulation of gene expression in eukaryotes. Several distinct classes of small regulatory RNAs have been discovered in recent years. To extend the repertoire of small regulatory RNAs characterized in mammals and identify miRNA expressed upon viral infection we used Illumina’s ultrahigh throughput sequencing approach. Results presented in this study extend our knowledge of the biology and evolution of small regulatory RNAs in mammals and illuminate mechanisms of small RNA biogenesis and function. Keywords: Transcriptome analysis We sequenced three small RNA libraries prepared from cell line derived from the adult bovine kidney under normal conditions and upon infection of the cell line with the bovine herpesvirus 1.